What Triggered #Ain’tNoCinderella?

Kristen Nannini quoted, “If you blame the rape survivor because their clothes were provocative, you must also blame the bank that was robbed because its contents were provocative.”

Women are being targeted yet again, and this time they are ardent to shut the oppressors down. It all began 2 weeks ago when a DJ in the northern city of Chandigarh was purportedly chased down by a group of men, one of whom was Vikas Barala, the son of an eminent politician from India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Eventually, Mr Barala was detained. Varnika Kundu, the victim, wrote a huge facebook post depicting the trauma she faced and that broke the internet. That post captured the attention of the senior BJP politician in Haryana, Ramveer Bhatti, and his abhorrent answer was what stirred the rise of “#Ain’tNoCinderella”:

“The girl should not have gone out at 12 in the night,” he told the CNN-News18 television channel. “Why was she driving so late in the night? The atmosphere is not right. We need to take care of ourselves.”

Obviously the replies to his statement were rather repulsive and Indian women, united, started posting pictures of themselves out at night under the hashtag #Ain’tNoCinderella. This campaign launched by Divya Spandana, a popular Film actress in the state of Karnataka who goes by her screen name Ramya, allowed many women to come forward, including Shamistha Mukherjee (daughter of former Indian president, Pranab Mukherjee), to use social media as a platform to speak up on their believes and to stand as one to obliterate the naysayers.

Why Does This Matter?

India still remains as a hotspot for sexual harassment cases considering the fact that it has been placed 5th in Wonderlist’s  list of Top 10 maximum rape crimes. It is a country yet to be deemed safe and sadly, nothing has changed since the Nirbhaya Verdict.

On May 10th 2017, a deaf and dumb girl was sexually assaulted by a 24-year-old man in the state of Varanasi. 4 days later, a 20-year-old woman was gang raped and murdered in Haryana Rohtak ostensibly by her jilted lover and a friend. Right after that incident, on May 15th 2017, a 22-year-old Sikkim woman was molested by a few men in a moving car in Gurgaon and was later thrown out of it.

According to The Indian Express (2016 article):

“Over 34,600 cases of rape have been reported across the country last year with Madhya Pradesh and Delhi topping the infamous list of states and union territories respectively. A total of 34,651 rape cases were reported in India in 2015. Among these, in 33,098 cases the offenders were known to the victims, as per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data released today.”

Sexual exploitation and abuse is a felony that is becoming a societal norm in India. It is of top priority that this offence gets eradicated soon for the well-being of its citizens. There are many social groups, Women Rights Organizations and campaigns that are bravely fighting for a change. Organizations like Sayfty, Women on Wings, Apne Aap etc.  and campaigns like AIB-IT’S YOUR FAULT, Dekh Le etc. are striving towards creating a better India where women and children can roam the streets, no matter how late it is at night, without having to think twice about being precautious due to the dangers that they may potentially face.

What Can We Do?

#Ain’tNoCinderella proved to be a success as it spurred feminism and caused many women to stick up to each other. In addition, it also unveiled the power of social media. Being part of the 21st Century, we are a generation who can attain our goals easily with the help of various technological factors.

#Ain’tNoCinderella is a huge establishment that shows what we can achieve in the long run if we set our hearts to it. We all can play a role. Women can set aside their differences and come together to spread girl love and work towards getting their voices heard. Men can support them by advocating on women rights and gender equality. They can also teach their fellow mates about the importance of such issues which are prevailing in India. Parents can educate their children and schools should do so too by conducting classes and awareness should be spread as much as possible. Teenagers could spread awareness too by using social media and sharing posts regarding sexual harassments to their friends and families. All it takes is a small step to make a big difference.

It is of high time that everyone stops remaining silent and will do something to awake change, no matter how small it is.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “There comes a time when Silence is Betrayal.”